"can apply" could refer to immigration, naturalization, or the Dream Act. so confusion is likely.
1) I think south40 was saying that illegal aliens cannot apply for naturalization, not that they would not be eligible for the Dream Act (south40, correct me if I am wrong about what you meant).
However, it is not impossible for an illegal alien to apply for legal status here, which is not the same as citizenship. (See "working toward citizenship" below.) If successful, that could be the start of a process that eventually leads to citizenship, although some applicants are rejected, or delayed, because of previous immigration violations. I once worked with a guy who married his nanny. He told me that, since she had a an immigration problem in the past, it would take her longer. (That does not seem to be a problem for Obama's relatives though. GW Bush's administration stopped all deportation arrests in 2008 for the sake of Obama's aunt.)
2) But my point was quite different:
The Dream Act defenders here usually claim that to qualify, applicants have to apply for legal immigration status, but as my post stated, the real Texas requirement is only that they sign a paper stating that they intend to apply for legal status at some time in the future. (Signing a paper that they will apply some day is a lot cheaper than paying a fee to USCIS for an application.)
They sometimes phrase this bogus "requirement" as "working toward citizenship," which could mean a lot of things, for example, they are expecting an amnesty with "a path to citizenship" eventually.
Also, I don't claim that Perry people are lying, but rather that they are mistaken about this point.
A few points to ponder.
1) No ILLEGAL alien, i.e., any individual who has entered this country ILLEGALLY and in complete defiance of US immigration law should be allowed to pay less college tuition than an American citizen. To do so is insanity but it is what Perry endorsed and his supporters defend.
2) Perry supporters claim that for ILLEGAL aliens to qualify for the instate tuition afforded by the Texas DREAM Act they need to be seeking a "path to citizenship". As I said in an earlier post, that is just not possible under current US immigration law; one must be here LEGALLY in order to qualify for citizenship. Perry may very well want to change that and I don't doubt that he does but as the laws exists now it is unlawful for someone here ILLEGALLY to seek "citizenship".
3) Perry supporters (and Perry himself) may be fooling themselves and trying to fool others with language such as "seeking legal status" which is possible, especially since the Obama administration announced it will no longer be deporting ILLEGAL aliens but instead will be weighing each case on a case by case basis looking for ways, of course, to keep ILLEGALs here with the ultimate goal of making them American citizens who will vote democRAT. Rick Perry, through his pandering to the ILLEGAL hordes in this country, is doing all he can to make that possible.
It is intellectually dishonest to say that ILLEGAL aliens can seek a "path to citizenship" when we know current US immigration law prevents it. It is also intellectually dishonest to use such words as "seek legal status" when one knows that is not the same as "citizenship".
The bottom line is Perry and his supporters are on the wrong side of this debate. ILLEGAL aliens deserve nothing more than a bus ride back to the border.
NO ILLEGALS, NO AMNESTY, NO COMPROMISE.